Sunday, 1 June 2014

Interview with Judd Madden - New album "Everything In Waves" out on June 6!

I had the pleasure of meeting Judd Madden in late December
2013 at "Riffmas", an annual event hosted by Melbourne band Riff Fist.
He's a humble bloke who is clearly passionate about his music. Just about to
launch his 7th album in just 5 years, Judd has kindly put some
time aside for an interview. Read on and find out more about Melbourne
Australia's prolific one man doom machine...

Judd - Thankyou for your time mate. First things first,
let's start with your impending album "Everything in Waves". What can
fans of your music expect to hear on this?

No worries man, my pleasure. Everything In Waves
is a mixed beast; crushing doom, patient post-metal and some quieter
acoustic sections. I feel that it's my best music so far, drawing
different musical themes together as a cohesive whole. It's similar to Artesian in scope but more varied, like Drown and Float together. This is the big one.

The video clip for 'Mountain Slayer' was a perfect
compliment to the sonic scapes of your most recent album 'Glacial'. In
addition the artwork on all your albums has been exceptional, a perfect
fit to the sounds within. What have you got planned on the visual front
for 'Everything in Waves'?

Yeah the response to the
video was great! For this album, I'm working with an amazing artist
who's doing a series of paintings - one per track. That's 10 paintings,
specifically for this album... and they are fucking awesome! They're
very different to anything that I would ever come up with by myself. We
can embed the art into the audio files so the two will be tied wherever
they travel. It's exciting.

You seem to be a jack of all trades when it comes to the
wide array of instruments you can play. Apart from drums, bass &
guitar I hear the cello (or violin?) on "Artesian"... Can you tell us a
bit about your musical background - are you self taught on all these
varied instruments? Also, what other bands have you played in prior to
commencing your solo project?

Yes, that's a cello I manage to scape my way through a
few takes with... it makes a reappearance on this album. I also mix in
piano and organ quite a bit (I have a 1970 Electone 'Grandma' Organ).
I'll try anything, there's a trumpet and a clarinet sitting here too,
but (sadly?) they don't make the cut very often. Drums, piano and
didgeridoo I learnt as a kid, then picked up bass and guitar in
high-school.

I've been in a few bands, jazz and classical in school, a punk band called Anomity (drums) and a rock/metal band called Fighting Locusts
(bass). These days I more enjoy jamming with friends, swapping around
instruments... just making up shit and having fun with music. Anson from
Sun Shepherd / Thermal Mass used to try and get me out, but fuck... I'm
a doom hermit and I like it that way.

I read on an interview you did with the Sludgelord a while
back and heard from the interview on the 'Rage & Frustration'
podcast that you were considering playing live at some point - have
these plans progressed any? It would be absolutely amazing to hear these
'doomscapes' live, and I'd very much think here in Melbourne I would
not be alone in being keen to hear, and feel, the Judd Madden riffs
live.

It's definitely something I'm interested in
doing, probably just as a once off. I have a few mates that could help
out, my drummer moved overseas though, so it's all on hold for the
moment. One day, one day.

Is there a possibility of a physical release of your albums
at any point? Have you ever approached or been approached by any
labels? A vinyl box set of all seven Judd Madden albums would be epic :)

People
ask this all the time! A vinyl of any album would be sick, a box set
would be ridiculous haha... Maybe I'll do a small run of the most sought
after album, and see how it goes.

I haven't approached any labels - this was always a DIY
project, and I don't mind staying that way. When you don't play live,
and you can self-release via Bandcamp or whatever, why do you even need a
label, really? Simplicity is good. But hey, if Neurot or Hydra Head get
in touch, I'm all ears.

To wrap up, is there a particular storyline or theme to the
new album? Looking at the track listing things seem to have taken a bit
of a scientific feel here...